Epstein to the Cubs Rumors Heating Up

For every report that states the Red Sox will give the Cubs permission to talk to Theo Epstein about their GM vacancy, there is one that says Boston will not allow Tom Ricketts to speak with Epstein about becoming the Cubs general manager.

A tweet on Saturday afternoon by Joel Sherman of the NY Post started the latest round of rumors. Sherman said all of the talk he heard among executives over a recent 36-hour time period indicated the Red Sox would allow the Cubs to interview Epstein … and Theo Epstein would accept the job as the General Manager of the Chicago Cubs.

The soon-to-be 38-year old Epstein has one-year remaining on his current contract and if the Red Sox let him out of his contact, Boston would likely receive some sort of compensation from the Cubs for Epstein.

According to reports from Cubs.com and the Boston Globe, a Major League source recently said, “The Cubs are obviously interested in Theo and talk is not going away. I think it’s possible.” Red Sox ownership and Epstein have not given straight forward answers regarding Epstein’s future with the Red Sox and if he would be given permission to interview with the Cubs.

Before the Cubs final game of the season, Tom Ricketts said the search for the new GM is ongoing. Multiple reports have indicated that Ricketts would like to keep the search as quiet as possible, which will be extremely difficult.

According to the Sun-Times, the Cubs have yet to schedule their annual organizational meetings (typically in Mesa in the first 10 days of November) and a delay past the first week of November could really hinder the entire organization for next season … and beyond.

Since taking over in October of 2009, the Ricketts family has mentioned the Red Sox on multiple occasions as an organization they would like to model the Cubs after … both on and off the field. The challenges the Red Sox faced nearly a decade ago are similar to the ones the Cubs are currently dealing with … a long, historic drought between titles; a home ballpark that is one of the game’s shrines but is aging and is in need of repairs and upgrades and an unproductive farm system. Could Tom Ricketts end up with the general manager that helped build two World Champions in the span of his nine seasons at the helm of the Red Sox organization?